Barbara Corday
Barbara Corday | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1944 |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer, writer, studio executive |
| Spouses | Roger Lowenstein
(m.1992) |
| Children | 1 |
Barbara Corday(born October 15, 1944) is an American television executive, writer and producer known for co-creating the television seriesCagney & Lacey.
Early life and education[edit]
Corday was born to aJewishfamily inBrooklyn,New York Cityon October 15, 1944, the only child of Josephine "Josie" (née Rich) and Leo Corday.[1]Her parents were both worked in the entertainment business: her mother was a professional singer and dancer, and her father wrote songs and jingles[1]and was an editor of theJewish Daily Forward.[2]She graduated fromMontebello High Schoolin 1955.[3]
Her parents divorced when she was a teenager.[1]She then moved to Miami with her mother where they had family and attendedNorth Miami High School.[1]After high school, at the age of 16, she moved back toNew York Cityand worked as a receptionist for the Max Richards Theatrical agency which acted as an employment agency for actors.[1]
Work[edit]
After a year working as a receptionist, a family friend got her a job as a publicist at Mo Braveman Associates that represented nightclubs, singers, performers; she later went to work for Dorothy Ross Associates which represented Broadway shows.[1]She credits her publicist background with learning how to write on demand.[1]She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s afterHenry C. Rogersapproached her and her husbandMichael Gershman(who was also a publicist) and asked them to start a music department forRogers & Cowanparticularly in representing Rock bands.[1]She had to step down from the role because she became pregnant with her daughter.[1]In 1972, Corday joined and worked as a publicist for the anti-war organizationAnother Mother for Peacewhere she met its founder,Barbara Avedonwho was also a new mom.[1]Avedon got their foot in the door with their projects because she had prior experience working on TV series likeThe Donna Reed Show,Father Knows Best,The Danny Thomas Show,The Ann Sothern Show,Margie,Gidget,Medical CenterandThat Girl.Danny Arnoldhired them to write a script for aBarbara Edenpilot (which never went to development).[1]They worked so well together, they officially became writing partners. From 1972 to 1979, they wrote several episodes for television series and a few pilots as free-lance writers including 19 episodes ofFish,4 episodes ofSons and Daughters,Executive Suite,Wonder Woman,Maude,andTurnabout(where they metSharon Gless).[1]In 1974, they started working onCagney and Laceyand tried to sell the script but were unsuccessful despite having support from Ed Feldman, executive in charge of film development atFilmwaysand fromSherry LansingatMGM.[1]
After giving up writing, Corday worked at several networks and made a career as top executive. In 1979, she dissolved her writing partnership with Barbara Avedon but they would team up again for a short time in 1981. Corday was scouted byMarcy Carsey[1]who was then senior vice president of prime-time series at ABC. She took a position developing comedies for ABC in 1979 developing the comediesBosom BuddiesandReggie.[1]Over the next ten years, she moved up the executive ladder. In 1981, the script forCagney and Laceywas finally accepted byCBSwho made a movie followed by a TV series which aired from 1982 to 1988. After she left ABC, she started a Columbia Pictures-affiliated production company Can't Sing Can't Dance Productions.[4]In 1984, Columbia exec, Herman Rush, recommended that she take over his position as a president ofColumbia Pictureswhich made her the first female senior executive atCoca-Colawhich then owned Columbia Pictures.[1]In 1987, she was named president and chief operating officer of Columbia/Embassy Television, a now defunct division of Coca-Cola Television that produced TV series and TV movies. Shortly after the formation of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, she was displaced as president by then-Tri-Star TelevisionexecutiveScott Siegler.[5]In 1988,Larry TischandHoward Stringerhired her as executive vice president of Primetime Programming atCBSEntertainment; she left in 1990 after her boss, network entertainment president Kim LeMasters resigned in 1990.[1]In 1992, Corday signed a deal with Lorimar Television in order to be served as co-executive producer of the popular prime-time television seriesKnots Landing[6]and from 1993 to 1994, she served as president ofNew World Television.
Personal life[edit]
In 1966, she married her first husbandMichael Gershmanand they divorced in 1969; they had one daughter, Evan.[2][1]
On April 8, 1972, Corday married actorNoah Keen,who was 23 years her senior. They divorced in 1974; he died March 24, 2019, at the age of 98.[citation needed]
On June 3, 1979, Corday marriedBarney Rosenzweigand she became stepmother to his three children by his first wife, Jo Anne Lang. They divorced in 1990. Barney Rosenzweig later married actressSharon Gless,co-star ofCagney & Lacey,a series that he produced and was co-created by his ex-wife Barbara Corday and her writing partner at the time, Barbara Avedon (1925-1994).[citation needed]
In 1992, Corday married Roger Lowenstein, a lawyer who practiced in the entertainment industry.[7]
Political activities[edit]
Corday was a founding member of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which operated from 1984 to 1997.[8]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrArchive of American Television Interview
- ^abPeople: "Cagney & Lacey Creators Barbara Corday and Barney Rosenzweig Mix Cops, Controversy and Marriage" by Jane HallNovember 25, 1985
- ^"Oiler Hall of Fame Inductees".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-04-02.Retrieved2017-10-24.
- ^"Fates & Fortunes"(PDF).Broadcasting.1982-06-28.Retrieved2021-09-21.
- ^"Coca -Cola Entertainment and Tri-Star to merge TV units"(PDF).Broadcasting.1987-10-19.Retrieved2021-09-08.
- ^"Telepictures targets prime time and more"(PDF).Broadcasting.1992-02-10.Retrieved2021-09-15.
- ^Newcomb, Horace (3 February 2014).Encyclopedia of Television.Taylor & Francis. p. 601.ISBN9781135194727.
- ^"Women's Political Group Disbands in Hollywood".The New York Times.Reuters. 1997-04-14.Retrieved2018-01-31.
Sources[edit]
External links[edit]
- Barbara CordayatIMDb
- biography at mbc
- biography on The Paley Center For Media
- Barbara CordayatThe Interviews: An Oral History of Television
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Television producers from New York City
- American women television producers
- American television writers
- American television executives
- American women television executives
- American women television writers
- 21st-century American women
- 20th-century American screenwriters
- 20th-century American women writers
- Writers from Brooklyn
- Screenwriters from New York City